Preventing Disordered Eating in Teenage Ballet Students: Evaluation of DancExcellent, a Combined CBT and Nutrition Education Intervention

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Disordered eating (DE) behaviors are relatively common among high-level dancers, especially in classical ballet. At the same time, interventions aimed at reducing DE behaviors in this population are scarce. METHODS: An 8-week exploratory preventive intervention for DE behaviors was carried out in a high-level ballet school for 40 teenagers aged 12–15 years (77.5% female). Both risk factors (perfectionism) and potentially protective factors (self-esteem, self-compassion) for the development of DE behaviors were considered. The intervention was created specifically for this study and consisted of five cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) workshops and four nutrition workshops. Additional components included newsletters for pupils and educational sessions and social media interactions with staff and parents. The intervention comprised two phases (control and intervention periods), with students acting as their own controls. Standardized questionnaires were completed before and after both phases. RESULTS: Questionnaire results did not indicate any changes in reported perfectionism, self-esteem, or self-compassion, nor were symptoms of DE affected during either the control or intervention periods. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention did not yield any discernible impact. However, it was affected by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limits our ability to draw conclusions about intervention effectiveness. Evaluations with pupils offer several considerations for future improvements.

Investigating pre-professional dancer health status and preventative health knowledge

“…Education programmes focused on promoting body acceptance [e.g., the Body Project ( 46 ) and the Body Project with dancers ( 47 )] and incorporating behaviour change such as using cognitive-behaviour-dissonance ( 48 ) show promise in reducing body dissatisfaction, reducing the risk of eating disorders, and in increasing the number of athlete’s seeking professional advice regarding female triad symptoms ( 46 ). Despite progress in health education programmes for dancers [e.g., ( 47 , 49 )], addressing education at a broader level including dance teachers and industry, along with a culture shift away from thinness idealisations in dance is required ( 4 , 10 ). Safeguarding the health and welfare of high-performance athletes has been flagged as a priority in all sporting environments, including among young athletes ( 21 ), and the importance of sports medicine within performing arts has been acknowledged ( 11 , 50 ).…”